Suppose they gave a war and nobody came

You don´t need to read much history to lose all faith in mankind. 
Endless wars and atrocities in the name of Jahve, Jesus Christ, 
Allah, manifest destiny, truth, democracy, freedom...

Thousands and thousands of years of horrors.

Still, most people you meet are decent and friendly.

How do you explain this? What's wrong with us?

What's wrong with you?

Why can't we stop following crazy, bellicose leaders: 
political leaders, religious leaders, leaders of the pack?
Is it because we are made to follow leaders, like chimpanzees?

Well, we also have the power to resist our natural urges.
It's difficult, but it is possible.

It's possible to jump off the bandwagon.

But you don´t.

You have to have a band to belong to. You have to have a bandleader. 
You can find another group of people to identify yourself with
but you have to belong somewhere. 

You're afraid of being all alone.
You're afraid of traveling alone without a roadmap.
I can understand that.
Nevertheless, it's possible to defect.

Many people have been able to leave their religious cult.
Many people have been able to leave their drinking buddies.
Many political dissidents have left their home, in search of a new home
in a new country, in a new culture.
Even criminal gang members have been able to leave their gang.

Life is meaningless

If you need a meaning with your life, you have to invent it or get it from someone else. The meaning is not out there somewhere in the yard like an Easter egg placed there by The Easter Bunny.

It's wonderful to find meaning in life. It feels good. To live a life without meaning or purpose is hard. We're not made to live without meaning.

Historians have identified 22 000 different Christian churches, denominations and sects in the history of Christianity. Isn't that amazing, 22 000 different interpretations of the same book?

There are also tons of different kinds of Hinduism, different kinds of Islam, different kinds of Buddhism. This must reasonably mean that you are free to invent your religion or your interpretation of a religious teaching if you feel like it.

You can, of course, also invent a secular philosophy of life or some other kind of belief system. You're free to concoct whatever beliefs you want.

Most people, however, don't have to worry about inventing beliefs or the meaning of everything. They simply believe what they have been told to believe. Family and friends, school and MSM, provide the answers to all questions about the meaning.